‘Minor’ explosion near election commission office in Karachi

Police in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Friday confirmed an explosion near the provincial election commission office in Karachi, only a few days before the Feb. 8 polls, calling it a ‘minor’ incident that did not lead to casualties.

Pakistan is facing security challenges ahead of the national polls slated for next week, with militants targeting security personnel performing regular duties and politicians running their campaigns.

Most of these incidents have occurred in the two western provinces of the country, close to Iran and Afghanistan. However, all major urban centers, including the country’s commercial capital Karachi, have been targeted by militants in the past who sought to generate violence or disrupt election activities in the country.

Only a day earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) held a meeting of its top officials to discuss the security challenges before announcing that national polls would be held as scheduled.

“At about 7:45 in the evening, there was a minor explosion,” Senior Superintendent of Police Sajid Amir Sadozai told a group of reporters while inspecting the site of the blast near the ECP building. “Something was inside a shopping bag that was confirmed to be almost 300 to 400 grams of homemade explosive with a timer. There were no nuts and bolts in it that could have been deadly. It was in a shopping bag along the roadside.”

Sadozai said the explosion was caused when a boy picked up the bag.

“It was a minor blast,” he added. “The boy also remained unhurt. No other injuries were reported. Apparently, it looked like a mischief.”

The police official informed that investigators were looking into the issue by examining closed-circuit television footage from the area that could provide them some clues.